21 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
John Reader's 1997 comprehensive history of Africa — from the continent's geological and evolutionary origins through to the modern era — arguing that Africa's geography, ecology, and prehistoric inheritance explain its historical development.
American ecologist and conservationist who developed the land ethic — the extension of moral community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals — and founded the science of wildlife management.
French political philosopher who wrote On Power — the most penetrating analysis of the modern state's tendency toward unlimited expansion — and later became a founder of futures studies. His analysis of power as a self-amplifying force that uses liberation movements as instruments of its own aggrandizement anticipated much of post-WWII political theory.
Dan Flores's 2016 natural and cultural history of the coyote — tracing 5 million years of evolution and the coyote's survival of systematic government extermination campaigns — the best popular account of any North American predator.
American historian of the American West — University of Montana (emeritus) — author of Coyote America and American Serengeti — who writes environmental history of the Great Plains.
American Jungian analyst and entomologist who wrote The Dairy Farmer's Guide to the Universe — a multi-volume study of nature, ecology, and depth psychology — and who integrates scientific knowledge of the natural world with Jungian psychological analysis.
Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction epic — set on the desert planet Arrakis — following Paul Atreides through a story of ecology, religion, politics, and the dangers of the messiah — the best-selling science fiction novel and the foundational ecological SF text.
American science fiction author — author of the Dune series — who created the most complex SF world and the most sophisticated SF treatment of ecology, religion, and messianic leadership.
American climate scientist (NCAR) and Jungian analyst who writes on the psychological dimensions of climate change — arguing that the collective inability to respond adequately to climate change is a psychological problem as much as a political or economic one, requiring depth psychological analysis.
Paul Rosolie's conservation book and initiative focused on Amazon rainforest protection — continuing the themes of his Mother of God memoir with a deeper focus on the mechanics and urgency of conservation work.
American biologist — Stanford — whose The Population Bomb (1968) predicted mass starvation by the 1980s from overpopulation — which proved incorrect — making him the most cited example of catastrophist scientific prediction failure.
Russian-American scientist who founded cliodynamics — the mathematical modeling of historical dynamics — using models from population biology to explain cycles of political instability, elite overproduction, and the rise and fall of empires (Ages of Discord, End Times).
American marine biologist and nature writer whose Silent Spring documented the environmental damage of pesticides, triggered the environmental movement, and became a paradigm case of individual scientific courage against industry pressure.
German-American psychologist who was Timothy Leary's colleague at Harvard — co-writing The Psychedelic Experience with Leary and Alpert — and who went on to explore consciousness transformation, shamanism, and ecological spirituality, founding the Green Earth Foundation.
Rachel Carson's 1962 book documenting the ecological destruction caused by DDT and other synthetic pesticides — the founding text of the modern environmental movement and a paradigm of science writing as civic action.
American writer and editor who created the Whole Earth Catalog — the information bible of the 1960s counterculture — and has been a consistently original voice on technology, ecology, and long-term thinking.
Paul Ehrlich's 1968 bestseller — predicting mass starvation from overpopulation in the 1970s–80s — which proved incorrect but triggered the modern environmental movement and is the most cited example of catastrophist prediction failure.
John Vaillant's 2010 account of a man-eating Amur tiger's rampage through the Russian Far East and the rangers who hunted it — combining natural history, Russian culture, and ecological science.
Charles Mann's sequel to 1491 — covering the ecological, economic, and human consequences of Columbus's voyages and the Columbian Exchange that followed.
2009 science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron — set on the moon Pandora — depicting a conflict between an indigenous alien species (the Na'vi) and a human mining corporation — the highest-grossing film in history — a landmark in motion-capture and 3D filmmaking technology.
2008 Pixar animated film directed by Andrew Stanton — depicting a small waste-collecting robot left alone on an abandoned Earth — nearly silent for its first act — a formally experimental animated film combining ecological warning, love story, and critique of consumer passivity into the most acclaimed Pixar production.